Bethany Cosentino on Sexism in the Music Industry: ‘There’s a Lot of People in the Industry That Do Shady Things’

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Back in January, Amber Coffman of the band Dirty Projectors recounted an incident of sexual misconduct made several years prior by Heathcliff Berru, a noted publicist in the music industry. Other women soon came forward to share their experiences with Berru, including Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino, who tweeted in response to Coffman: “Good for you for doing this. I was too freaked out to ever say anything. Seriously he’s not a good person on any level.” Stopping by The Daily Show last night, Cosentino used the opportunity to discuss how she became the “spokesperson” for the Berru backlash — he has since stepped down as the CEO of Life or Death PR — as well as the prominence of sexual assault and sexism in the music industry.

“The idea of women being sexually assaulted, it’s everywhere. It doesn’t exist just in my industry,” she said. “But as a woman, I felt it was so important to support my peer, my female peer. I didn’t realize that it was going to become such a huge thing. I really didn’t. I thought, you know what, I’m gonna back Amber because that’s what I feel that I should do. This is an incredibly important conversation that needs to be had.” For more of Cosentino’s insights, watch the video above.